PHILADELPHIA (AP) \u2014 Manager Rob Thomson, who led the Phillies to four straight playoff appearances, including the 2022 World Series, was fired on Tuesday after Philadelphia lost 11 of 12 games and began the day tied for last place in the majors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Bench coach Don Mattingly was named interim manager through the end of the season and third base coach Dusty Wathan was promoted to bench coach. Mattingly<\/a> will now officially work for one of his sons \u2014 Preston Mattingly is the Phillies general manager \u2014 in what is believed to be the first father-son GM\/manager combination in baseball history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Thomson went 355-270 and led a Philadelphia team loaded with high-priced talent that included Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to consecutive division titles. The 62-year-old Thomson, a baseball lifer finally promoted to his first managerial stint in 2022, signed a contract extension in the offseason running through the 2027 season and was again expected to lead the Phillies into World Series contention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Instead, the Phillies and their $300-plus million payroll have been one of the biggest flops in the baseball and lost 10 straight games before ace Zack Wheeler led them to a win against Atlanta on Saturday. The Phillies lost to Atlanta on Sunday and fell to 9-19 overall, tied with the division rival New York Mets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Thomson is the second manager fired in baseball this season after the Red Sox fired Alex Cora and five coaches<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies\u2019 president of baseball operations, gave Thomson a vote of confidence last week while they were in the midst of their losing streak. Dombrowski stood behind Thomson\u2019s work and said he\u2019s been a good manager since replacing Joe Girardi<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dombrowski said Tuesday that he talked to Cora about becoming the next manager.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe never got down to the nuts and bolts of things,\u201d Dombrowski said. \u201cHe called me Saturday night as a friend. I guess he calls me one of his mentors and we talked because he never had been through that before. We talked Sunday morning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI came to conclusion that if he took it, I would make a change. I thought he would take it. Until Monday morning it was apparent from his perspective he wanted to take time with his family. He wanted to be a father first and foremost and so that\u2019s what he had decided.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Thomson led Philadelphia to the 2022 World Series after taking over for Girardi, losing to the Houston Astros in six games. Since then, the club has regressed in the postseason. It lost in the NL Championship Series in 2023 in seven games, and the NL Division Series in 2024 and \u201925 in four games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Nicknamed Topper, Thomson has been with the club since the 2018 season, when he was first hired as bench coach under former manager Gabe Kapler.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He was with the New York Yankees from 1990-2017, including 10 seasons on the major league coaching staff as bench coach (2008, 2015-17) and third base coach (2009-14). He earned his nickname in the Yankees organization for always being on top of details.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Thomson became only the fourth manager in big league history to reach the postseason in each of the first four full seasons to begin a managing career, joining Dave Roberts, Aaron Boone and Mike Matheny. He became only the third manager in Phillies history to win consecutive division titles, joining Charlie Manuel and Danny Ozark.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Phillies have been awful in what was supposed to be a celebratory season with the franchise set to host the All-Star Game and its surrounding festivities. Instead, they have collapsed in every aspect of the game, with regulars Alec Bohm and Schwarber both hitting under .200, while starters Jes\u00fas Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter all have 5.00-plus ERAs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Phillies just released high-priced bust Taijuan Walker in the final year of a four-year, $72 million contract and outfielder Nick Castellanos was released<\/a> in February as he entered the final year of a five-year, $100 million deal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Phillies haven\u2019t won the World Series since 2008 and had last made the playoffs in 2011 until Thomson led them a surprise run to the World Series in 2022 dubbed Red October that rejuvenated the fanbase and made 90-plus win seasons the norm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Phillies](\"https:\/\/img.huffingtonpost.com\/asset\/69f1171218000095575b408a.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale\")
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